I dream of spending several weeks combing every shoreline, wetland, prairie, and upland forest of the 240,000-acre Upper Mississippi River National Wildlife and Fish Refuge, as well as nearby public lands. Even if you don’t have weeks, the region offers an ideal Big Day of birding.
Green Island is a vast floodplain of the Mississippi with small pools, large lakes, and dozens of productive seasonal “floodles.” Managed corn fields feed migratory waterfowl. Access roads make birding easy. I like to park and walk long stretches of gravel roads along the edges of wet meadows and ponds, combing the shores and treelines for the array of migrating songbirds in the spring and fall, nesting waterfowl in the summer, and the northern birds that overwinter here.
Mississippi Palisades State Park in Illinois offers breathtaking views of the river. The Sentinel Trail, which links with both the Pine and Prairie Trails, has been most productive for spring ephemeral wildflowers and woodland warblers.
Fulton Lock and Dam (aka Lock and Dam 13) is one of the best eagle-viewing places in the lower 48 states. Hundreds of eagles and tens of thousands of waterfowl are found here in winter.
A Big Day with 100 species and thousands of birds is doable, especially if you pause at several of the other refuge access points between Green Island, the Palisades, and Lock and Dam 13.
Directions
The refuges and parks in this area are accessible via Highways 67, 52, 64, 84, and other local roads.
Downloadable Files
At a Glance
Click on the coordinates below to view location:
42° 9’0.17″N 90°17’10.47″W
Habitat
Upland and wet forests; wet, mesic, and dry prairies; open water; and cattail meadows.
Terrain
Many miles of good gravel roads for hiking and/or car birding, mostly flat.
Birds
Spring migrants: Blackburnian, Black-and-white, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Nashville Warblers, Scarlet Tanager, Rose-breasted Grosbeak, American Golden-Plover. Nesting: Common Yellowthroat, Baltimore Oriole, Great Crested Flycatcher, Pileated Woodpecker, Black-crowned Night-Heron, Bald Eagle, American Kestrel, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser. Fall migrants: Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Pectoral Sandpiper, Long-billed Dowitcher, Wilson’s Snipe, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Philadelphia Vireo. Winter: Bald Eagle, Rough-legged Hawk, American Tree Sparrows, Snow Bunting, Lapland Longspur, Horned Lark, Trumpeter Swan.
When to go
Year-round.
Amenities
Mississippi Palisades State Park has restrooms, campgrounds, and other amenities. Green Island has no facilities. Bring snacks, water, and other essentials. Lodging, restaurants available in Clinton, Iowa, and Savanna or Fulton, Illinois.
Access
No entrance fee or permission required. Open dawn to dusk, parking available. Limited access during duck- and deer-hunting seasons (check for details).
Tips
Dress for the season. Mosquitos can be problematic as summer progresses. A scope for scanning open water is a bonus.
For more info
Savanna District Office, (815) 273-2732.
